August 26, 1972 Rock N Roll Park, Augusta, GA
Argent, Bloodrock and the Irish blues man Rory Gallagher headlined the only outdoor concert to take place at "Rock and Roll Park." The site, on Furys Ferry Road behind Warren Baptist Church, in Augusta, Georgia, had previously been called "Rodeo Park," where equestrian events and even car races took place. Ticket prices for the August 26, 1972 event were a whopping $4.50 in advance and a wallet-busting $5.50 at the gate. It was billed as a "Free-Form Concert" in the ad that ran in The Augusta Chronicle the Sunday before the show. The main promoter was Michael B. Leonard, whose company was called Cosmic Productions. The opening act was a group of locals whose leader eventually achieved more fame than all three of those group's combined: Steve Morse and Dixie Grit. Morse, now the lead guitarist for Deep Purple, had just graduated from high school and was about to leave for college in Miami where he and fellow Augustan Andy West formed the Dixie Dregs. Argent, led by Zombies founder Rod Argent, were the headliners, as the single "Hold Your Head Up" was a big hit at the time. Bloodrock were a one-hit wonder whose D.O.A. was a smash two years earlier but, curiously, the band did not even play its only hit that sweltering night. Gallagher turned in the hottest set of the concert with tunes such as Messin' with the Kid and Bullfrog Blues. Gallagher and his '61 Stratocaster really impressed. Former Richmond County officer and current law student Pete Lamb was one of the rock deejays in Augusta when WFNL-AM was the city's first "progressive" music station. Lamb, then 18, said, "There was a great deal of hope that Augusta could actually be like the rest of the country as far as music festivals were concerned. We were all so very excited because more outside concerts were planned after this one." Unfortunately, those shows never happened, and promoter Leonard blames that on overzealous law enforcement. Bill Anderson, the Richmond County sheriff at the time, rode around in a golf cart with a TV reporter, trying to video arrests of kids caught smoking marijuana for publicity ... and undoubtedly, re-election purposes. Leonard, who later brought numerous acts to town, including Van Halen, Heart, Jimmy Buffett and the Allman Brothers, knew that he had a serious problem on his hands. "Bill Anderson had all of his narcs going around trying to bust people for smoking pot, which was ridiculous. I never saw anyone lighting up. He was the reason why I never promoted another show at the park," said Leonard. Anderson was later caught selling five pounds of marijuana and was sentenced to five years in prison. Current Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength told The Chronicle in 2000 that "Anderson would have still been sheriff today if he had kept his nose clean." That was something Anderson was unable to do. In 2000, police officers seized eight video machines and $2,800 from Anderson's K&C Collectibles in Augusta. "The police ruined what should have been a pivotal day in Augusta music history," said concert-goer Marshall Thomas. "It was obvious to all of us that Anderson and his staff were trying to make the day as uncomfortable as possible for all of us."